I was told by al-'Anazi abu-'Ali on the authority of 'Ali ibn-al-Sabbah
that Hisham ibn-Muhammad abu-al-Mundhir once related: I was told by
abu-Basil al Ta'i,' on the authority of his uncle 'Antarah
ibn-al-Akhras[1], that the Tayyi' had an idol
called al-Fals[2]. It was a red [rock], in the
form of a man[3], projecting in the center of
their mountain, Aja[4] which was black. They
were wont to worship [this rock], present their offerings unto it,
and slaughter their sacrifices before its [ascent]. No man who was
afraid and was seeking refuge would come to it without finding
safety, and no stray beast would enter its confines without
finding protection. The Beast would also become the property
of the idol, sacred and taboo.

Its custody was in the hands of banu-Bawlan[5]
while Bawlan himself was the first to institute its worship.
The last of the banu-Bawlan to hold its custody was one called
Sayfi[6]. One day he caught a milch-camel which
belonged to a certain woman of the banu-'Ulaym[7]
of the Kalb [tribe] a neighbor of a nobleman, Malik ibn-Kulthum
al-Shamaji[8], and drove it

52

along until he brought it to the confines of al-Fals. Thereupon
the neighbor of Malik called upon him and told him how [Sayfi] had
taken away her milch-camel. On hearing her story he jumped upon
the bare back of an unsaddled horse, took his spear, and followed
after Sayfi. He overtook him by al-Fals and found the milch-camel
tied within its enclosure. Addressing [Sayfi], he said, "Let go
the milch-camel of my neighbor." [Sayfi] replied, "But it is the
property of thy Lord!" [Malik] again said, "Let it go." [Sayfi] replied,
"Wilt thou violate the sanctity of thy Lord?" Exasperated, Malik
threatened Sayfi by pointing his spear against him. Thereupon, the
latter untied the camel and set it free. Malik took it back and
delivered it to the woman, his neighbor. Then the custodian approached
al-Fals and, pointing to Malik, addressed it saying:

Sayfi said this in an attempt to incite the idol against Malik
so that it might vent its wrath upon him. it so happened that
'Adi ibn-Hatim[9] had, at that same day, offered
a sacrifice before al-Fals, and saw what Malik had done. As he sat
with a few companions discussing the incident, he trembled with
fear and said, "Watch what will befall Malik this day." But several
days passed and nothing happened to Malik. Consequently ['Adi]
renounced the worship of al-Fals as well as that of the other
idols and embraced Christianity, a devotee of which he remained
until the advent of Islam, when he became a Muslim.

['Adi] was, therefore, the first to violate the sanctity of al-Fals.
Henceforth whenever the custodian took in a stray beast [he was not
allowed to keep it as the property of the idol]; on the contrary,
it was taken away from him. Al-Fals continued to be worshipped until
the advent of the Prophet,

53

at which time 'Ali ibn-abi-Talib was dispatched to destroy it.
'Ali destroyed the idol and carried away therefrom two swords
called Mikhdham and Rasub (the same two swords which 'Alqamah
ibn-'Abadah[10] had mentioned in his poetry),
which al-Harith ibn-abi-Shamir, king of Ghassan, had presented
al-Fals[11]. 'Ali brought them to the Prophet
who wore one of them and gave it back to him. It was the sword
which 'Ali was always wont to wear.